THUNDER BAY – Parents will have to find shallow water somewhere else for their young children to beat the heat this summer.
The city has closed the wading pool at the Art Widnall Pool because of a new provincial regulation.
Talia Strickland, aquatics program supervisor, told Newswatch that updates to the definition of a wading pool in the Ontario Public Pool Regulation 565 now require a lifeguard be present because there is a Class A pool (the main pool) in the same facility.
“So, because of that, it needs to have its own individual lifeguard just watching the wading pool, and currently, we don't have the capacity to staff that additional person,” Strickland said.
She said that typically the facility staffs four lifeguards and one checker staff at the front desk.
Strickland encourages families to find shallow water at the Canada Games Complex, Churchill Pool, and other splash pads around town.
The regulation defines a wading pool, as opposed to a splash pad, based on its depth, she explained.
She said the city plans to reopen the wading pool for the Art Widnall Pool annual festival day on August 12 from 1 to 5 p.m. because they expect a good turnout of people to join in on the celebration.
In the meantime, and after the festival day, they are hoping to introduce new activities to replace the wading pool.
“It does have an impact on the patrons because it is an activity or like an amenity that people enjoy having, so we do recognize that, and because of that, we're trying to bring in some other activities as soon as possible to hopefully fill that gap in the service,” Strickland said.
She said there are no plans to hire another lifeguard at this time.
